Airspeeder, the world’s first electric flying car racing series, has announced a technical and strategic partnership with cyber protection company Acronis.
The racing series, created by electric flying car manufacturer Alauda, will receive technical and strategic support from Acronis.
The first Airspeeder GPs are planned for 2021 where elite pilots drawn from aviation, motorsport and eSports will navigate electrically-governed courses across some of the most visually arresting locations in the world.
Airspeeder is described by global commentators as the ‘Formula One of the skies. Acronis’ technical team will manage the streams of live data that will underpin a sport that promises to be one of the most exciting global sporting events.
Acronis’ data solutions currently ensure the security of the terabytes of data derived from running Formula One cars during testing and racing scenarios. This data is essential to sports like F1 that require telemetry data to analyse performance and set strategy.
Airspeeder’s team and pilots will benefit from real-time data including analysis of battery and key systems performance. From this information, engineers will be able to define strategy in real time to find competitive advantage in a sport where every team starts with the same technical platform.
The electric racing multi-copters will fly at speeds of up to 130km/h. Airspeeder GP seasons will be contested by teams who will purchase the original craft and equipment from Alauda and will be given freedom to set race strategy and recruit pilots from a pool of elite pilot academy graduates. This approach has been compared to the Formula E racing series.
Success for teams competing in the Airspeeder series is defined by the skill of individual pilots and the teams’ ability to maximise performance from this technical platform. Key to this will be the collection and interpretation of the data which will be underpinned by Acronis. Key indicators from battery peak performance to pilot biometrics will be available to teams as they plot strategy to gain competitive advantage.
The eVTOL (electrical vertical take-off and landing) sector is gaining momentum and is backed by giants including Uber, Daimler, Toyota, Hyundai and Airbus. Widely dubbed as ‘flying electric taxis’ and considered the next great mobility revolution, eVTOL promises to liberate cities and cut journey times with a sustainable flying transport solution. The sector is predicted by Morgan Stanley to be worth $1.5 trillion dollars by 2040.
“Our proven, integrated approach to providing easy, efficient, reliable and secure cyber protection for all data, applications and systems, will help Airspeeder to enhance their performance on the air track and in the back office,” says Jan-Jaap Jager, the board advisor and senior vice-president at Acronis.
Airspeeder’s will globally stream races and interact with the sport’s fan community across multiple devices and channels, “Acronis’ work securely managing global fan, follower and partner data for leading sporting entities perfectly empowers Airspeeder to deliver a next generation multimedia experience. Central to this is equipping Airspeeder with the inherent flexibility to adapt to rapidly shifting requirements of audiences in the way they interact with brands,” he says.